Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Wow!

After bumpy start, symphony sparkled with Mason Bates, Rachmaninoff, and Mozart.

Edo de Waart kept the orchestra moving ahead with all the Mozartian phrasing.
Edo de Waart kept the orchestra moving ahead with all the Mozartian phrasing.

The San Diego Symphony came into form at their concert on Friday, October 12. Joyce Yang was back at the keyboard not just on the 12th but also earlier in the week at The Scripps Research Institute on Tuesday, October 9.

The Scripps concert was thoughtful and sincere. The program started with Clara Schumann’s Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann followed by Beethoven’s Ghost Trio and then Robert Schumann’s Piano Quartet in E flat major.

Sponsored
Sponsored

I liked the idea of a “ghost” standing between Clara and Robert. Robert spent the final two years of his life in an asylum which didn’t allow his wife, Clara, to see him for fear that a visit from her would worsen his condition. Johannes Brahms visited Robert a few times but kept Clara in the dark regarding the severity of Robert’s condition. The way I looked at the program is that the ghost between Clara and Robert was his mental breakdown.

In reality the ghost was Beethoven. Joyce Yang opened the concert by playing Clara Schumann’s variations, composed for her beloved Robert’s 42nd birthday, with all the dedication and tenderness of a life-long partner..

A violinist and cellist from the San Diego Symphony joined Ms. Yang for the Beethoven trio. It appeared to me that the two symphony musicians weren’t that interested in the performance. I’m not saying they weren’t interested in fact but that their appearance came off as if they were uninterested.

The symphony musicians who joined Ms. Yang for the Robert Schumann piano quartet appeared engaged and enthusiastic in their performance. It was a fine performance of what might be the quintessential piece of romantic era chamber music.

The Friday, October 12, concert at Symphony Hall was the real deal. Wow! After what I would call a bumpy start to the season on the previous weekend, Edo de Waart and the San Diegans sparkled in this concert of Mason Bates, Rachmaninoff, and Mozart.

Mason Bates’s composition Garages of the Valley was cinematic in its conception. That is to say that it came through as a series of episodes. I found it to have a sense of beauty which is absolutely crucial to the creation of any piece of art.

Let’s skip to “the good part” of Rachmaninoff’s Variations on a Theme by Paganini. When variation No. 18 made its appearance, it came to us like a returning faith. At that moment 1800 people released their shoulders at the same time and relaxed into something we can all believe in, the beauty of music. Rachmaninoff melted us into our seats.

Joyce Yang’s performance of No. 18 was more tender than ecstatic. Her playing sought to move us rather than impress us. It was the type of playing that brings a tear to the eye for no other reason than the beauty which is pouring through the musicians.

The final piece of music was Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in g minor. Edo de Waart kept the orchestra moving ahead and all the Mozartian phrasing was present and accounted for. I will say that in the final movement the tempo became somewhat stagnant compared to the momentum of the previous three.

I have it, from a credible source, that at Sunday’s concert the Mozart was sheer perfection.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

City Lights: Journey Through Light & Sound, Hotel Holiday Tea Service

Events December 7-December 11, 2024
Next Article

Colorado governor Polis’ days in La Jolla canyons

Why Kamala might not run for Calif. governor
Edo de Waart kept the orchestra moving ahead with all the Mozartian phrasing.
Edo de Waart kept the orchestra moving ahead with all the Mozartian phrasing.

The San Diego Symphony came into form at their concert on Friday, October 12. Joyce Yang was back at the keyboard not just on the 12th but also earlier in the week at The Scripps Research Institute on Tuesday, October 9.

The Scripps concert was thoughtful and sincere. The program started with Clara Schumann’s Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann followed by Beethoven’s Ghost Trio and then Robert Schumann’s Piano Quartet in E flat major.

Sponsored
Sponsored

I liked the idea of a “ghost” standing between Clara and Robert. Robert spent the final two years of his life in an asylum which didn’t allow his wife, Clara, to see him for fear that a visit from her would worsen his condition. Johannes Brahms visited Robert a few times but kept Clara in the dark regarding the severity of Robert’s condition. The way I looked at the program is that the ghost between Clara and Robert was his mental breakdown.

In reality the ghost was Beethoven. Joyce Yang opened the concert by playing Clara Schumann’s variations, composed for her beloved Robert’s 42nd birthday, with all the dedication and tenderness of a life-long partner..

A violinist and cellist from the San Diego Symphony joined Ms. Yang for the Beethoven trio. It appeared to me that the two symphony musicians weren’t that interested in the performance. I’m not saying they weren’t interested in fact but that their appearance came off as if they were uninterested.

The symphony musicians who joined Ms. Yang for the Robert Schumann piano quartet appeared engaged and enthusiastic in their performance. It was a fine performance of what might be the quintessential piece of romantic era chamber music.

The Friday, October 12, concert at Symphony Hall was the real deal. Wow! After what I would call a bumpy start to the season on the previous weekend, Edo de Waart and the San Diegans sparkled in this concert of Mason Bates, Rachmaninoff, and Mozart.

Mason Bates’s composition Garages of the Valley was cinematic in its conception. That is to say that it came through as a series of episodes. I found it to have a sense of beauty which is absolutely crucial to the creation of any piece of art.

Let’s skip to “the good part” of Rachmaninoff’s Variations on a Theme by Paganini. When variation No. 18 made its appearance, it came to us like a returning faith. At that moment 1800 people released their shoulders at the same time and relaxed into something we can all believe in, the beauty of music. Rachmaninoff melted us into our seats.

Joyce Yang’s performance of No. 18 was more tender than ecstatic. Her playing sought to move us rather than impress us. It was the type of playing that brings a tear to the eye for no other reason than the beauty which is pouring through the musicians.

The final piece of music was Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in g minor. Edo de Waart kept the orchestra moving ahead and all the Mozartian phrasing was present and accounted for. I will say that in the final movement the tempo became somewhat stagnant compared to the momentum of the previous three.

I have it, from a credible source, that at Sunday’s concert the Mozart was sheer perfection.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

For nutty pies at Pizza by Aromi in La Mesa

Sicilian cousins add to the Italian goodness they dish out around Lake Murray
Next Article

San Diego Reader 2024 Holiday Guide – like none other

Candle-making, tree lighting, pajama jam
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader